I was told I wasn't allowed to join Manchester United - what I did next is my biggest regret

It was on September 16, 1996, when David Hirst wrote his name into the Premier League history books - but not quite in a way that most other players envision leaving a lasting legacy.

The former Sheffield Wednesday striker set the record for the hardest shot ever recorded in the Premier League era during a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at Highbury. Striking the ball with what was once described by a former teammate as a 'sledgehammer of a left foot', Hirst struck a shot against the crossbar at an unimaginable speed of 114mph, leaving Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman rooted to the spot.

Had it gone in, instead of bouncing down and away to safety, it would have been remembered even more vividly than those of just a Wednesday persuasion. But had Hirst had his way, he could have been shooting with his 'sledgehammer of a left foot' in the red of Manchester United, instead of the blue and white stripes of Wednesday on the other side of the Pennines.

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Such was the impression he was making in South Yorkshire, former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, after being turned down by Alan Shearer for the first time in 1992, turned his attention to Hirst, highlighting him as the perfect candidate to bolster United's forward line. At the time, Hirst, who scored 128 goals in 358 appearances for Wednesday, was banging the goals in for fun, scoring 20 in 37 games for the Owls during the 1991/92 campaign, fresh from their promotion from the old Division Two and a League Cup final success over United in 1990/91.

Ferguson was understood to be an admirer of the Barnsley-born striker, so much so that he later admitted that was 'even